Islamia College University Kidnapped VC | Literacy Day

Kidnapped VC completes three years in captivity
Peshawar, Sep 11: It was September 8, 2010 when the Vice-chancellor of the Islamia College
University (ICU) Ajmal Khan was kidnapped from outside his residence in
the Professors Colony near the campus of the University of Peshawar.
The government has failed to ensure the safe recovery of the missing
official even over three years of his kidnapping.

Ajmal
Khan requested the federal government time and again through video
messages to help him return home safe and sound. Apart from Ajmal Khan,
two high-profile individuals who have been missing for long and are yet
to be recovered include Ali Haider Gilani, son of former prime minister
Yusuf Raza Gilani and Shahbaz Taseer, son of slain Punjab governor,
Salman Taseer. He has been missing since August 2011 while Gilani has
been missing since May.

The ICU vice-chancellor was being
driven in his official car A-9450 by his driver Mohibullah at around
9:20am on September 8 2010 when they were intercepted by three gunmen
riding a car in the Professors Colony just outside the University of
Peshawar Campus.

The vice-chancellor and his driver were
immediately shifted to the Khyber Agency and later transported to other
tribal areas. No one knows about the whereabouts of Ajmal Khan since
then. He is still posted as vice-chancellor of the ICU after the
government extended his tenure as head of the historic educational
institution.

Police conducted a successful raid in the
Karkhano Market the same day and recovered the car used in the
kidnapping of Ajmal Khan, arresting an alleged kidnapper. However, the
kidnapped official had already been shifted to the tribal area.Raids
were conducted in Ghundi, Sakhi Pul, Nasir Bagh and other parts of
Peshawar and tribal areas during which the cops recovered son of a
retired banker kidnapped for ransom from Hayatabad, but failed to
recover Ajmal Khan.

A number of jirgas were held,
students, teachers and vice-chancellors of other institutions staged
protests and the government made appeals for the release of Ajmal Khan,
but in vain.Even the government of the Awami National Party, whose chief
Asfandyar Wali Khan is a close relative of Ajmal Khan, failed to make
any headway in the recovery of the senior academician.

Before
Ajmal Khan, the vice-chancellor of the Kohat University of Science and
Technology Dr Lutfullah Kakakhel was kidnapped while coming to Peshawar
from Kohat via Darra Adamkhel in November 2009. He was later released
safe and sound.

Ajmal Khan was appointed vice-chancellor
when the Islamia College was given the status of university. Previously,
he was heading Gomal University in Dera Ismail Khan as vice-chancellor
and had served the historic Islamia College as its principal.

The
kidnapped vice-chancellor is the grandson of Abdul Jabbar Khan,
popularly known as Dr Khan Sahib, who had served as chief minister of
the West Pakistan, chief minister of the erstwhile NWFP and federal
minister for communication in the federal cabinet.

He was
the elder brother of freedom fighter and Khudai Khidmatgar movement
founder Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan. Ajmal Khan's father Obaidullah was the
first cousin of late Khan Abdul Wali Khan, veteran nationalist
politician and father of Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan.

Literacy Day goes unnoticed
Lahore: No significant event was organised either by the government or non-profit
organisations on International Literacy Day on Sunday.

The
Literacy and Non-Formal Basic Education Department Punjab and NGOs in
the field have planned events for Monday (today). Pakistan is among few
countries which spend the least on education sector while access and
quality of education is also far behind the satisfactory level. It is
generally believed that lack of the political will is the biggest hurdle
in achieving maximum literacy. The other challenges are because of
social and economic factors which have been contributing to the spread
of illiteracy in the country where around 60 million people aged above
10 years are illiterate.

Meanwhile, IJT Nazim Muhammad
Zubair Safdar criticised the government for hollow slogans and an
indifferent attitude towards the cause of literacy. Addressing a
ceremony, he said government should ensure education opportunities to
each and every child since it was the basic right. The news

KMU to have nursing, medical institutes
Peshawar: The Khyber Medical University (KMU) would
soon have institute of nursing and medical technology and institute of
medical sciences as the relevant authorities have approved these
multimillion projects.

KMU Vice Chancellor Professor Mohammad Hafizullah told this to the
13th meeting of the varsity syndicate held at the Institute of Basic
Medical Sciences (IBMS), here on Tuesday.

Mr Hafizullah said the institute of nursing and medical technology
would be built at an estimated cost of Rs750 million and institute of
medical sciences at Rs995 million. He said that strengthening of KMU
project would cost an estimated Rs450 million.

He informed the syndicate that KMU had set up an emergency advisory
team comprising medical, public health and nursing experts to visit
district Swat and recommend precautionary measures to help control
outbreak of dengue in the valley.

He said on successful completion of PhD by KMU scholars abroad as
well as completion of PhD studies by scholars enrolled in IBMS, various
constituent institutes would start functioning to the optimum and
initiate practical research in the field of medical and allied health
sciences.

The meeting recommended setting up various faculties, including basic
medical sciences, clinical sciences, dentistry, allied health sciences,
health profession education and research and public health and social
sciences.

The meeting also appointed on regular basis Dr Abdul Sahib Khan as
associate professor (IBMS) and Asim Samad as assistant treasurer. Dr
Mohammad Tahir Sarwar was appointed assistant professor on TTS basis at
IBMS.

The meeting also gave approval to the proposed eligibility criteria
of different posts for the Office of Research Innovation and
Commercialisation, KMU.

It also approved grant of ad-hoc relief allowance, 2013 at 10 per
cent of the basic pay to all the KMU employees, including contingent
paid staff and contract employees. app